Apparatus for controlling water system fouling

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for controlling water system fouling includes a control panel including a display and a plurality of push buttons; a power assembly disposed below the control panel; and a heat dissipation device disposed on two sides of both the control panel and the power assembly. The power assembly includes two polarity sockets, two conductivity sockets, a power socket, an on/off switch, a backup socket, a pump socket, and a drain socket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to foul removal and more particularly to anapparatus for controlling fouling in cooling water of a cooling watersystem.

2. Description of Related Art

It has been known that rust iron and inorganic salts may foul watersystems and lead to very significant water system inefficiencies. Theseinefficiencies result in increased energy consumption and increasedmaintenance demands which, in turn, increase overall operational andmaintenance costs by several orders of magnitude.

A conventional apparatus for generating ions within a water systemcomprises a water tank including a cylindrical tank interior, the tankinterior including upper and lower tank portions, and the water tankfurther including a tank aperture at the upper tank portion whereby thetank interior is made accessible through the aperture and a side wall, awater inlet assembly, a water outlet assembly, and an ion generatorincluding at least one anode and at least one cathode. Ions aregenerated.

While the device enjoys its success in the market, continuingimprovements in the exploitation of apparatus for removing fouling areconstantly sought.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide an apparatus forcontrolling water system fouling comprises a control panel including adisplay and a plurality of push buttons; a power assembly disposed belowthe control panel; and a heat dissipation device disposed on two sidesof the control panel and the power assembly.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description taken withthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for controlling watersystem fouling according to the invention with the cover open;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus showing a heat dissipationdevice;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus showing a first fan of theheat dissipation device;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus showing a second fan of theheat dissipation device;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing a first operationstep of the apparatus;

FIG. 6A is a detailed view of the area in circle A of FIG. 6;

FIG. 6B is a view similar to FIG. 6A showing the on/off switch pressedby a finger;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing a second operationstep of the apparatus;

FIG. 7A is a detailed view of the area in circle B of FIG. 7;

FIG. 7B is a view similar to FIG. 7A showing the push button pressed bya finger;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing a third operationstep of the apparatus;

FIG. 8A is a detailed view of the area in circle C of FIG. 8;

FIG. 8B is a view similar to FIG. 8A showing the push button pressed bya finger;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing a fourth operationstep of the apparatus;

FIG. 9A is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 9;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing a fifth operationstep of the apparatus;

FIG. 10A is a detailed view of the area in circle D of FIG. 10;

FIG. 10B is a view similar to FIG. 10A showing the push button pressedby a finger;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing a sixth operationstep of the apparatus;

FIG. 11A is a detailed view of the area in circle E of FIG. 11;

FIG. 11B is a view similar to FIG. 11A showing the push button pressedby a finger;

FIG. 12 is a side elevation of the apparatus showing how the heatdissipation device is working; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing two electrodeassemblies connected to the polarity sockets of the apparatus byelectric wires.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 13, an apparatus 1 for controlling water systemfouling in accordance with the invention comprises the followingcomponents as discussed in detail below.

A control panel 10 includes a display 100 and a plurality of pushbuttons 101 under the display 100. A power assembly 11 is disposed belowthe control panel 10 and includes two polarity sockets 110, twoconductivity sockets 111, a power socket 112, an on/off switch 113, abackup socket 114, a pump socket 115, and a drain socket 116. A heatdissipation device 12 is provided on one sides of both the control panel10 and the power assembly 11 and includes a plurality of fins 120. Theheat dissipation device 12 further includes a first fan 121 and a secondfan 122.

Operations of the invention are described in detail below. First,connect the power socket 112 to a first electric wire 1120 which iselectrically connected to a line power. Next, turn on the on/off switch113. As a result, current, voltage, and power are shown on the display100 (see FIG. 6). Next, an employee may press one or more push buttons101 to adjust current and/or voltage (see FIG. 7). An apparatus 2 formetallic particles separation submersed in cooling water is electricallyconnected to the polarity socket 110 using a second electric wire 20.Next, the employee may press one or more push buttons 101 to adjustcurrent and/or voltage (see FIG. 8). Metallic particles in the water canbe separated to adhere to the surface of the apparatus 2 to form asfouling which can be cleaned in the future (see FIG. 9). The employeemay electrically connect a pump (not shown) to the pump socket 115 by athird electric wire 30 so that the pump may supply electrolyte from anelectrolyte source (not shown) to the apparatus 2. The employee maymonitor data including the amount of electrolyte on the display 100 foradjustment (see FIG. 10). The activation of the pump can be set byprogramming. The employee may connect the drain socket 116 to a drainvalve 4 using a fourth electric wire 40. Also, the employee may connectthe conductivity socket 111 to a conductivity sensor 5 using a fifthelectric wire 50. Next, the employee may press one or more push buttons101 to set desired conductivity. The drain valve 4 will be activatedwhen the desired conductivity is reached (see FIG. 11). Automatic outputcontrol can be achieved by measuring water temperature and waterconductivity.

As shown in FIG. 12, cold air is introduced into the apparatus 1 by thefirst fan 121. Excessive heat in the apparatus 1 is absorbed by the fins120 and is carried to the second fan 122 by the air. Finally, hot air isexpelled out of the apparatus 1 by the second fan 122.

As shown in FIG. 13, the polarity sockets 110 may be connected to twoelectrode assemblies 2 using an electric wire if such need arises.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferredembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the inventioncan be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for controlling water system foulingcomprising: a control panel including a display and a plurality of pushbuttons; a power assembly disposed below the control panel; and a heatdissipation device disposed on two sides of both the control panel andthe power assembly.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heatdissipation device includes a first fan, a second fan, and a pluralityof fins.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the power assemblyincludes two polarity sockets, two conductivity sockets, a power socket,an on/off switch, a backup socket, a pump socket, and a drain socket. 4.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pump and a drain valveconfigured to be controlled by the control panel.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein an automatic output control is achieved by measuringwater temperature and water conductivity.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the push buttons are configured to be pressed to adjust at leastone of current and voltage supplied to the power assembly.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the drain valve is configured to open orclose in response to water conductivity.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the activation of the pump is configured to be set byprogramming.